Residents plan to approach Lokayukta over vanishing lake

The members of the Somasundarapalya Lake Neighbourhood Trust are planning to approach the Lokayukta in their bid to save the dying water body.

The lake, spread over 15 acres and 29 guntas and located between HSR Layout and Mangammanapalya, is falling victim to unauthorised dumping of debris for the past six months.

Balasubramanian Thirunavukkarasu, a resident of HSR Layout and a trustee, said that they have exhausted all possible measures to save the lake and the civic agencies were apathetic to their initiative.

The trust members said that their complaints to local tahsildar, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the police had not elicited any response, and with no other alternative they were contemplating to approach the Lokayukta.

 “The 27th main road in HSR Layout is being asphalted for the first time. The debris on this road is being dumped on the lakebed and sometimes right in middle of the lake. None of the civic agencies has taken any steps to stop this illegal dumping,” Balasubramanian said.

Truptimay Mishra, another member of the trust, alleged that more than 50 truckloads of debris were being dumped on the lakebed. The road leading to the lake has been widened to facilitate dumping, he added.  

Balasubramanian said that they noted down the registration numbers of trucks and the tractors and registered a police complaint too, but to no avail.

Kavitha Reddy, another resident, alleged that nearly 1.69 acres of the lakebed have already been encroached upon. When the chief minister visited Agara Lake in September 2013, he had directed re-survey of Somasundaraplaya lake too.

A BDA official told Deccan Herald that a survey of the lake had been conducted and the surveyors were yet to submit their report. He said that work order to fence the lake boundaries was ready and they were awaiting the survey report to proceed further.